Sunday, March 13, 2011

Could you be Vitamin D deficient and not know it?

Every day your body is regenerating skin, bone and muscle cells. But, especially in the case of your bone health, it needs Vitamin D to do its job.

In fact, Vitamin D is such a serious problem that in the mid-1900s, the government began fortifying the nation’s milk supply with Vitamin D to help curb an epidemic of rickets in children.

But just drinking milk may not be enough. If you’re Vitamin D deficient, you’re putting your bones and body at risk. Learn how you can tell if you’re getting enough Vitamin D and what you can do about it.

What is Vitamin D and How Does it Help the Body?
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, with its main role to help the body absorb calcium. It’s no wonder Vitamin D is largely considered by the medical community as one of the most important of the vitamins needed by your body every day.

Consider the following quote from Dr. Greg Plotnikoff, Director of the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis: “Because vitamin D … so clearly reduces all-cause mortality, I can say this with great certainty: Vitamin D represents the single most cost-effective medical intervention in the United States,” said Dr. Plotnikoff.

Vitamin D and Bone Health
Your skeletal system serves as the literal and figurative backbone of your body. Strong bones give you strength and help improve your posture and balance. But when your body doesn’t have the minerals – like calcium – it needs to strengthen your bones, you’re at risk for developing conditions such as osteoporosis.

The problem with these conditions? Many people – especially middle-aged adults – may not realize their bones are growing weaker due to a deficiency in Vitamin D until it’s too late.

Why You’re Not Getting Enough
You’ve seen the countless TV and magazine commercials urging you to drink milk and touting the benefits of calcium. But what good does getting calcium in your diet if you don’t have enough Vitamin D to help absorb it?

Vitamin D deficiency is a relatively new phenomenon among the human race. That’s because, in the modern area of the desk job, sitting in front of the TV and shopping malls with artificial light, we get less exposure to the sun than ever before. That’s right, the main source of Vitamin D comes from exposure to the UVB rays of the sun. On top of that, the darker your skin, the less you’re able to absorb the UVB rays that provide the precious Vitamin D for your body’s needs.

Natural Sources of Vitamin D
So where do you turn for Vitamin D? Your first guess might be the carton of milk sitting in your fridge. Most milk sold commercially has Vitamin D added, but not enough to satisfy your daily needs. According to the National Institutes of Health, most of the nation’s milk supply is fortified with 100IU/cup, only 25 percent of the daily recommended amount of Vitamin D. The fortification of milk with Vitamin D began in the mid-1900s in response to the staggering number of children who developed rickets – a condition common in children marked by weakening of the bones. Now most of the dairy supply, as well as infant formula, is required to have Vitamin D added to it.

Even if milk provided the magic solution for Vitamin D deficiency, drinking extra portions of it isn’t necessarily the best solution. Most non-skim forms of dairy contain saturated fat, a major contributor to conditions like high cholesterol and coronary heart disease.

So, where else can you turn? Some fish, such as mackerel, salmon and tuna contain Vitamin D. Or you could try a spoonful of cod liver oil. Liver, beef and margarine contain some Vitamin D, but not nearly enough to satisfy your daily needs. In fact, you’d have to eat eight servings of beef liver every day to get the daily recommended amount Vitamin D in your diet. Doesn’t sound too appealing, does it? According to the National Institutes of Health, only 29 percent of men and 17 percent of women are able to satisfy their daily Vitamin D needs through diet alone.

The Solution
So how do you get the Vitamin D your body needs and help protect your bones? Getting out and exposing your skin to sunlight is one way. But with the hustle and bustle of work, family and all there is to do in life, it can be hard to find time to just bask in the glow of the sun’s warm rays for the sake of soaking up more Vitamin D. And even when you do get an opportunity for exposure to the sunlight, there’s sunscreen to worry about.

Ask me how I can help you supplement your life with the right essentials to ensure you give your body the increased amount of Vitamin D it needs. It is critical to your well being and to your good health. Together let’s make sure that you get everything you want out of this life.